


Eyes Wide Open

by JadeJem



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Hot Mess Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Love, Marichat, Mutual Pining, Pining, Protective Chat Noir, Slow Burn, Struggle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2020-07-08 17:04:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19873060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeJem/pseuds/JadeJem
Summary: "So, are you in love with me yet?”“And if I am?” Marinette teased, eyes glimmering with barely contained mirth.Chat smiled to himself, though it felt more rueful than anything else. “You shouldn’t make jokes like that.” He met her gaze and forgot himself for a moment. “I might get my hopes up.”





	Eyes Wide Open

"So, are you in love with me yet?”

Marinette looked over at Chat Noir, lips quirking up into an amused smile. His heart leapt into his throat; he was obviously joking, but part of him was throbbing painfully with hope. It had been a joyous five months of this song and dance, and with every passing day, Adrien fell a little harder for the mystery that was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. 

Chat often mused that he was torturing himself like this—flirting with her and declaring his love for her like it was a joke when it very much wasn’t. Of course, Marinette being Marinette, always thought he was kidding and that flirting was just part of his personality. Flirting was a regular thing for Chat Noir, but he was never earnest with other people when he flirted. 

Not the way he was earnest with Marinette. 

“And if I am?” Marinette teased, eyes glimmering with barely contained mirth. 

Chat nearly wheezed. His breath hitched, and he began coughing violently. Marinette was at his side in an instant, patting his back as he gripped her balcony railing. 

“Jeez, Chat,” Marinette laughed, though her face was painted with worry. “Are you okay?”

Chat smiled to himself, though it felt more rueful than anything else. “You shouldn’t make jokes like that.” He met her gaze and forgot himself for a moment. “I might get my hopes up.”

Even in the dark evening, Chat could see the way Marinette’s cheeks glowed with warmth. She swallowed stiffly, eyes wide, before she hurriedly turned away. “Very funny, Chat Noir,” she laughed, though it sounded strained. “I almost believed you for a second there.”

Chat dissolved into half-hearted chuckles. “Imagine that.”

Marinette spun to face him again. “Hypothetically,” she said, expression thoughtful, “how would a relationship with a civilian work?” 

Damn it all if hope didn’t swell up in his chest again. 

“How do we work?” Chat asked, quirking an amused eyebrow at Marinette as she began to pace back and forth. 

“Not like us,” Marinette corrected, shaking her head. “I mean…” She stopped pacing. “Romantically.”

Chat’s heart thudded double-time. He took a moment to mull the question over. 

“It depends,” he finally said, garnering her attention. “Would you feel safer or more endangered in a relationship with a hero?”

Marinette bit her lip, eyes set on something far past the city skyline. “I’m not sure,” she admitted after a long moment. “If _I_ were to be romantically involved with, say, _you_ , it would be hard to not worry about you or want to see you more often. There are a lot of factors that would play into this relationship that one would have to think about.” Her cheeks darkened. “What about being intimate? Going on dates? Getting married? There are so many things that would have to be sacrificed.”

Chat took a step toward Marinette and gently took her hands, which were gesturing wildly. “But what if I could protect you? What if the safest place for you was by my side? What if we loved each other enough that we would figure everything out as we went because we couldn’t sacrifice what we had?” He was aware that he was sounding desperate, but this hypothetical situation was feeling too real for Chat’s heart to take. 

Marinette’s eyes clouded. “Chat,” she said softly, though her voice cracked. She looked afraid; she looked as if she’d finally taken the opportunity to glance down at her hands and realize that she was holding his heart in them. 

Chat screwed his eyes shut and leaned his forehead against hers. “Shit,” he cursed without any real conviction, a smile that felt more like a grimace playing along his lips. “This was not how this conversation was supposed to go.”

He released her hands, and she wrapped him in a tight hug, burying her face into his collar. “Chat,” she repeated, and his heart clenched, “I couldn’t give you everything you need. You need consistency, intimacy, someone to come home to—”

“ _You’re_ my home,” Chat pulled away, his hands gently cupping her face. “God, Mari, you’re just—you’re my _everything_. I would move _mountains_ for you, conquer oceans, bring down the sky—anything you asked. I worship the ground you walk on simply because you walked on it.” He searched her gaze. “I’m so in love with you that it terrifies me.”

Marinette whimpered, eyes glassy. Chat’s heart was thundering in his chest, trying desperately to carve its way out of its prison and get as close to Marinette as possible. 

“I didn’t know you felt this way,” she sniffed, voice wet with emotion. “I—I don’t know how I feel about you romantically because I’ve never allowed myself to entertain the idea, but I know that, right now in this moment, I’ve never wanted to kiss someone more, and to be this confused about you is what terrifies _me_.” 

Chat could hear his heartbeat in his ears. His eyes zeroed in on her lips, which were closer than he could ever remember them being. An unspoken question hung between them in the air as Chat gradually closed the distance between them. He shuddered when he felt her breath on his lips, and the shudder turned into hesitation. 

Marinette stood on her tiptoes, closing the distance. It was just a peck—a quick introduction of the lips. Chat searched her eyes, desire storming within him. With an astounding amount of self control, he kept himself rooted to the spot, unmoving until she was ready to make her verdict. 

Marinette came up once more, the second kiss longer this time. It was sweet and new and it sent the butterflies residing within Chat’s chest violently fluttering about. 

When she pulled away from this kiss, there was something different in her eyes. She reached up and traced his jaw up to his human ear before moving past it and tangling her hand in his hair. With a small jolt, she tugged him down into a much more searing kiss, pulling an unexpected moan from Chat. 

Her body pressed into his, every contact an answer to his prayers. His self-control was quickly unraveling, and he found that his hands had glided down her shoulders and sides to grip her hips for a few moments. She seemed to appreciate the attention, for she pressed further into him. Unable to keep his hands still, he graduated from her hips to her lower back, raking his hands up and down. 

Marinette made a sound that sent a jolt straight through Chat, so he repeated the motion and was beyond pleased to receive the same reaction. 

When they finally broke apart for air, it felt as if they were puncturing the surface of the ocean. The stupid grin that stretched Chat’s face when their foreheads met didn’t go unnoticed. 

“Of course I would be falling in love with such a massive dork,” Marinette muttered darkly, eyes shut but lips curved into a fond smile.

“Falling in love?” Chat queried, hope spiking in his chest to accompany the raging butterflies. 

Marinette nodded, a subtle movement he felt. “Yeah. I didn’t realize it until now, though.”

If possible, Chat smiled harder. “What a _fur_ tunate turn of events.”

Marinette’s lips suddenly met his again, fleeting but warm enough to send shots of heat coursing down his throat and pouring into his chest. 

“Don’t pun,” she said breathlessly, “ or I’ll be more inclined to shut you up.”

“If you’re trying to motivate me not to pun,” Chat started, tilting Marinette’s chin up, “you’re going about it all wrong.” 

With some courage, Chat managed to close the distance between their lips once more. “I don’t know how this is going to work,” he admitted after a quick kiss, moving to cup her cheek, “but you’re worth fighting for.”

Marinette’s hand came to rest over his own, and she entwined their fingers with a small smile. “You shouldn’t make jokes like that; I might get my hopes up.”

Chat kissed her nose. “It’s a good thing I wasn’t joking.” 

Her cheeks darkened. “It’s getting late, and we both have school tomorrow.”

They drifted apart, though their hands stay twined together. Chat could feel the unknown crawling over every inch of his skin, but there was also excitement for what was to come. He was running into this blindly, but as long as Marinette was with him, he knew that there wasn’t anything he couldn’t do. 


End file.
